


hit me baby (one more time)

by orphan_account



Category: TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Crack, Exes, Getting Back Together, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-22
Updated: 2020-01-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 08:36:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22360036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The past rarely has anything new to say, except when you actually take the time to listen.
Relationships: Choi Beomgyu/Hwang Hyunjin, Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 21
Kudos: 312





	hit me baby (one more time)

**Author's Note:**

> yes that is in fact a britney spears song reference in the title. other than that...no words

“Wait, that’s tomorrow?” Yeonjun yelps. 

He hears rustling on the other end of the call, like his reaction has urged his roommate to actually get off his bed and scream bloody murder into the transmitter.

_ “You are literally so useless, hyung! I told you this a month ago! I even took the initiative to update your calendar. I’m heartbroken!” _Beomgyu really has a flare for the dramatics, something he probably picked up from Yeonjun himself.

Honestly though, Yeonjun really shouldn’t be talking to Beomgyu on the phone while he’s about to aim a 20 gauge needle at an innocent Welsh Corgi sitting helplessly on the operating table, quivering ever slightly beneath his touch. 

Jimin, the resident veterinarian, is shaking his head disapprovingly as he takes the syringe from Yeonjun’s grip and administers the shot himself.

“Shit. I’m sorry, okay? Stop being such a drama queen. I promise I’ll still make it!” Yeonjun swears into his phone, slowly backing away from the table and letting Jimin completely take over. “I’ll skip dance class. Minho-hyung will understand.” 

_ “The only way I’ll forgive you is if you ask Jimin-hyung and his friends to come too.” _

“I thought we hired you to make my life easier, not give me, and the animals, anxiety every time you’re within 2 meters of any sharp object. Hang up the phone, asshole.” Jimin rebukes, though there’s hardly any bite to his tone. Jimin is too nice for his own good, which is exactly why Yeonjun always gets away with being a shitty veterinary assistant. 

“Sorry hyung! I just totally forgot about Beomgyu’s band thing and he’s giving me hell for it. By the way, he says you should come as an alumnus.” Yeonjun informs Jimin as he jumps backward onto the tiled counter, his ass missing the unsterilized forceps container by half an inch. “And you should totally bring your just-sex friend with you. It’s going to be fun.” He means to throw Jimin a curveball by mentioning his glorified fuck buddy whom he harbors real unadulterated feelings for—all in order to divert the focus from his recent transgression as an assistant. Well, that and he’s actually curious to finally meet the person responsible for quenching Jimin’s simmering libido.

Jimin sets down the used syringe with a soft clink and raises a finger at Yeonjun, his mouth gaping open as if to say something, only to close it again with a resigned huff. Yeonjun snorts. The older boy can actually be really cute.

“Okay Beomie, I should go. I’ll see you after work.” He finally hangs up and siddles next to Jimin. “So, are you going?”

“Jungkook’s not going to go. He doesn’t do social engagements outside the comfort of the bedroom. Actually he doesn’t do social engagements inside the bedroom either.” Jimin tells him, and it’s easy to sense his disappointment. Yeonjun kind of feels bad now for even bringing Jungkook up. “And I have to watch the clinic, so no, I can’t go. Tell Beomgyu good luck.”

“I will. And, sorry, hyung.” Yeonjun shifts and nuzzles the top of Jimin’s head. It’s something he often does to assert his height over him, otherwise it’s to show affection. He swears that one day he’s going to stop implicating Jimin’s height, or lack thereof, in any type of way in a situation that’s completely irrelevant. But right now, his hyung resembles that of a kicked puppy, and he will be damned in hell if he doesn’t respond accordingly by burrowing his nose into Jimin’s baby-smelling scalp. Anyway, he knows the older boy well enough to know he doesn’t really mind.

Jimin pats his hand and moves to pick up the dog so he can cradle it in his arms. “You know, it sucks, but I think everyone is bound to go through it. We’re all cursed to fall for people we’re not supposed to fall for and that’s just it. We’re fucked, Yeonjun. But we gotta deal with it.”

Yeonjun doesn’t pay much heed to Jimin’s cryptic words, chalking it up to his hyung’s constant state of anguish, but he humors him nonetheless. “Hyung, you are not fucked. I mean, unless you mean it in the literal sense, if so then I’m sure you are regularly fucked, like mindblowingly fucked, your words. But otherwise, you’re just human. You have feelings and shit. And if this Jungkook guy doesn’t recognize that then he’s not worth the heartbreak.” 

And really, Yeonjun isn’t exactly the most optimistic person, but even he can believe that not everyone has to get their heart broken. 

“Thanks Juni. Here I thought you were only capable of giving me mini heart attacks. I never thought I’d hear actual enlightening words come out of your mouth.” Jimin snarks but offers a soft, appreciative smile, shortly before contorting his face back to a chiding frown. “This doesn’t get you off the hook, you fucker. You’re on sterilizing duty.”

“Aw, come on hyung.” Yeonjun whines. He really shouldn’t be talking on the phone with anyone when he’s at work.

+x+

It had taken about a full second after Yeonjun declared Step Up the best dance-centric film in cinematic history for Minho to let him skip dance class unscathed. Frankly, Yeonjun thinks the universe could do without all five movies, but he would rather soak his eyes in soapy dish water than say that to the face of the guy who has the entire franchise in BluRay and would go to fucking court to defend its sheer mediocrity. 

And with that, Yeonjun finds he has over an hour to spare before Beomgyu’s band performs at the university fair. He decides to use this free time to meander mindlessly through the assortment of stalls littering the large expanse of their campus quadrangle. They range from ones that sell customary food and drinks to varying levels of pretentious instagram pop-up stalls that Yeonjun finds himself completely distracted by until it’s 2 minutes to 7 and Beomgyu is already spamming him with angry text messages. 

**beom+babie equals beomie **

where r u????? 

i told u to be here at 6:30

_ 6:40 _

im rly nervous i think im going to puke

_ 6:47 _

ok i puked and UR STILL NOT HERE!!!

i am: going to murder u

IM GONNA B PLAYING FOR THE FIRST TIME IN FRONT OF HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE AND MY BEST HYUNG IS NOWHERE TO BE SEEN?? pure devastation

_ 6:57 _

“Shit!” He hisses when he realizes he’d dicked around for too long after finding out he had over an hour of free time. He doesn’t waste a second gracing Beomgyu with a reply and hastily pockets his phone, making a mental note to come back for the fox and rabbit design from that stall that sells paper clay art sets. 

The run he makes for the stage on the opposite side of the quad would put Usain Bolt to shame, because the one thing he wants to avoid most is dealing with Beomgyu’s moping and guilt tripping for the rest of the week if he misses even a single strum of his guitar. Choi Beomgyu is such a prissy little diva, but Yeonjun wouldn’t take him any other way. 

It’s the fact that people have migrated towards the same destination that permits him the latitude for a full on sprint, but there are still a number of students scattered around which provide some obstacle—like the tall figure he accidentally rams his shoulder against when he runs past him. 

Normally he would just mutter a small sorry and get on his way, but the impact had been strong enough to force him to stop and fix his gaze on the person he offended. 

“I am so sor—” Yeonjun starts, and then his tongue suddenly feels like it has atrophied in his mouth as soon as he registers who it is. 

“Jun-hyung?” Says Choi Soobin, who happens to be standing right in front of him. His _ ex-boyfriend, _Choi Soobin. “It’s me, Soobin.” He gestures to himself. 

Yeonjun is never the type to easily forget faces. He remembers the face of a guy he’d seen at the student center dozing off to some girl group song and he remembers the face of a woman who’d sent him a glare when he yelled Changbin’s name far too loud at a restaurant a couple of days ago. Both of these are examples of brief and highly insignificant occurrences. Certainly he would remember the face of a guy he’d _ dated _ for a whole month back in senior year of high school. 

Okay, one month is not a big deal, and Yeonjun won’t even deny the fact that he had put as much focus into that so-called relationship as he did watching the pompous noir films Seungmin had force fed everyone each time it was his turn to pick for movie night but it was still _ something _. It was enough for the guy to leave a lasting impression on him. 

“S-Soobin. Hey.” Yeonjun croaks, gaze skimming over the other male in what he hopes is an inconspicuous way. 

He remembers Soobin being good-looking, donning that youthful glow devoid of life’s real stressors and problems. So he’s not sure if it’s the evening mixing with the feeble booth lights but right now Soobin’s face looks a bit more gaunt than he remembers, with more than a hint of a sharp jawline and cheekbones that have become much more prominent. 

Soobin takes a couple of steps closer, allowing Yeonjun to discern the difference in their height. “Sorry, are you okay?” 

Yeonjun actually recalls having a few centimeters over him before, which was something he took pride in while they were dating. Now he’s a good half a head taller than Yeonjun, and his shoulders have stretched quite a bit as well. His voice has dipped marginally lower too. 

In short, he’s _ fucking _hot now, and Yeonjun suddenly doesn’t know words. 

His phone vibrating on his back pocket snaps him out of his reverie, reminding him of a prior commitment he’d been rushing to attend to. 

“Oh fuck!” He doesn’t bid Soobin even a small farewell when he takes off, half due to him being in a huge hurry and the other half being him not knowing how the fuck to engage. Yeonjun is seldom caught off guard, usually sharp and quick-witted in majority of social situations, but with Soobin’s bolt from the blue appearance, he finds himself unprepared, unhinged. 

A round of applause erupts from the crowd of students gathered in front of the stage, with Yeonjun’s prominent screams probably loud enough to wake even the rotting corpses buried under their campus grounds. Seungmin not-so-gently elbows his ribs and says something about his eardrums getting shattered, while both Changbin and Hyunjin vigorously join him. 

Beomgyu’s band’s performance went swimmingly, and Yeonjun, despite still being mildly distracted by lingering thoughts of meeting his ex, feels extremely proud of his roommate. 

“Beomie-ah, hyung is so proud. I can’t believe Your Bear Loves You has officially debuted! Congratulations!” Yeonjun croons while shedding fake tears—with only a hint of sarcasm aimed at the ridiculous choice of band name and a small jab at how k-pop fans act on twitter—as he pulls Beomgyu into a tight embrace behind the makeshift stage. “It was definitely not the worst thing I’ve ever heard.” Now he’s just being rude.

Beomgyu shoves him away with an annoyed expression. “Why? Why the hell do I still keep you around?” He rolls his eyes, but is fully receptive of the way Yeonjun ruffles his hair anyway. 

“I’m kidding! You were great.” Yeonjun tells him genuinely followed by him singing a small snippet from the chorus of Beomgyu’s original song. 

“Yeah you were.” Someone interjects from behind them, and Yeonjun recognizes whose voice it belongs to despite himself. 

“Soobin!” Beomgyu practically shrieks and runs into Soobin’s arms like an excitable child. “Were you able to watch the whole thing? How was it?” 

The scene looks a tad comical, with Beomgyu’s relatively small stature engulfed by Soobin’s much larger one. 

What really confuses Yeonjun though, is the fact that the two know each other, what with the flagrant display of closeness right in front of his metaphorical salad. 

“Wait what?” Yeonjun blurts. He stands there, waiting for someone, preferably Beomgyu, to make sense of what’s happening. Granted, he hasn’t really made any attempts at telling Beomgyu about his obscure past with Soobin, but still. 

“Oh! Soobin, this is Yeonjun-hyung, my roommate.” Beomgyu pats either of their shoulders. “This is Soobin. He changed majors and transferred to this campus just recently but we’re already best friends.” Beomgyu giddily explains. Soobin doesn’t seem all that surprised to see this mutual connection, or maybe he doesn’t think it’s worth a reaction. Yeonjun isn’t sure. He realizes he doesn’t remember anything about how the other male’s mind worked. 

“Oh…” Yeonjun trails off, actually remembering Beomgyu mention something about a new guy in their department at the start of the semester. 

Soobin is looking over at him thoughtfully, as if he’s waiting for Yeonjun to say something, to say _ the _thing. But Yeonjun stays quiet, unsure of how that information would even be relevant now considering how long it’s actually been and how short-lived their relationship was. 

“Actually, we’ve met before. We went to the same high school.” Soobin informs Beomgyu simply. He exchanges knowing looks with Yeonjun and proceeds to offer a smile, one that shows his dimples. Yeonjun vaguely remembers habitually poking them when they dated. He looks incredibly handsome, now even more than Yeonjun remembers. The past years have surely treated him well. 

He thinks Soobin might be subtly hinting at him to tell their friend that they used to date, but he doesn’t want to add to the already awkward air he’s feeling. That’s why he decides he’ll tell Beomgyu later when the two of them are alone. He always ends up telling him everything anyway. “Yeah that’s right. We were schoolmates.” He merely confirms Soobin’s statement. 

He isn’t sure but he thinks there’s something like disappointment in the way Soobin’s lips twist ever so slightly. 

“Damn. Small world. Aren’t you guys glad you got reunited though? And best of all, through me.” Beomgyu haughtily says, and Yeonjun can’t help but make a face. 

“That’s not entirely true. We’ve also met earlier on accident. But Jun-hyung kind of left me hanging.” Soobin gestures towards him and laughs softly. “He was in such a hurry to see your show.” 

Beomgyu clicks his tongue. “That’s because he was too busy dicking around he probably forgot about our performance until the last minute. He didn’t even reply to my texts.” 

“Would you quit being a whiny little shit? I still made it didn’t I?” Yeonjun says defensively. “And sorry, for running off, but you see what I have to deal with.” He faces Soobin with an apologetic expression. For some reason he feels flustered around him, like they’re actually meeting for the very first time. 

Soobin waves his hands dismissively and smiles. “It’s alright. Don’t worry about it.” 

Yeonjun hopes Soobin knows he’s also sorry for choosing not to immediately divulge their brief high school relationship. He wants to think it’s for both their benefits, because having to have the potentially awkward conversation right now would just dampen the mood.

+x+

Soobin was this cute lower classman who was overly shy and perpetually nervous around Yeonjun. Yeonjun looks back on that one Valentine’s day when Soobin had somehow gathered the courage to ask him out on a date at the back of the gym after P.E, shoujo anime style, complete with a letter and a box of mint chocolate. It was probably the most cliche way a person could be confessed to but it was hard to resist the earnest look on the younger boy’s face back then, so Yeonjun pretty much had no choice but to say yes. 

“Holy shit. That’s kind of amazing.” Beomgyu exclaims while balancing a water bottle on his head. It falls and hits his shoulder, then proceeds to roll under the bed. “I mean, it really is a small world. Of all the new students I could have befriended in that elective class. It had to be your ex.” 

“Stop making this about you, asshole.” Yeonjun kicks his roommate’s knee and lays on his bed with a plop. “It’s awkward. I don’t even remember liking him that much. After graduation I made up some shit excuse about going to summer prep school in another province so breaking up would be easier. I’m pretty sure he knew I was lying out of my ass. Honestly, I didn’t think I would ever see him again.” 

Beomgyu is peering under the bed for his water bottle as he talks. “But you said it yourself. It’s ancient history. He’s probably over it. You know, you’re not that hot, hyung. Stop insinuating that people have a hard time forgetting you. He probably moved on like 20 minutes after you left.” 

Yeonjun delivers a soft smack on the back of Beomgyu’s head, eliciting a yelp from the younger male. “Yah! I _ am _that hot but I didn’t insinuate anything. I’m just saying, he probably thinks I’m a heartless crone.” 

“I sometimes think that of you too, and I tell you that all the time but you don’t seem to have any plans on changing for my benefit. So what makes Soobin any special?” 

“You’re the devil’s incarnate which is technically higher than heartless crone on the douche hierarchy so my character development wouldn’t benefit you in any way.”

Beomgyu straightens up after successfully retrieving the bottle from under the bed. “Seriously though, why do you care so much?” He tilts his head and sends Yeonjun an inquisitive look. “Is it because he’s hot now? And you totally want to bone him? Is that it? I’m right, aren’t I?” 

“Oh my god, you say that like the possibility of sex is the only thing I care about when I’m being self-aware.” 

“You took the words right out of my mouth. That’s literally all you think about!” 

“Is not! The hell do you know?” Yeonjun huffs, but he doesn’t have the heart to deny the fact that Soobin indeed looks good. If he’d met him for the first time that night, he would have jumped at the chance to ask him out. Unfortunately, he had let go of that chance when he chose to end their placid relationship years ago. 

“Why don’t you just ask him out?” Beomgyu asks through a bewildered gape. 

Yeonjun lets out a guttural moan, hands coming up to ruffle his already disheveled hair. “I can’t!” 

“Why not?!” 

“Because he’s illegal.” 

“No he’s not?” 

“No, I meant.” Yeonjun blows a raspberry and rolls his eyes. “He’s illegal. Forbidden fruit. You don’t break up with someone and then ask them out. That’s like, the rules of dating.” 

“You seriously made that up.” Beomgyu sighs. “Whatever.” 

Would Yeonjun ask his ex out on a date after he’d dumped him a long time ago? No. He has more pride than that. But would he mind being friends with said ex? 

The answer, Yeonjun would like to think, is no, he wouldn’t.

That is why he ends up ambushing Soobin outside the Behavioral Science building where Beomgyu advised him to wait. True enough, when students flock through the exit in obtrusive steps and chitchats, he immediately pinpoints Soobin towering over the lot of them. 

Soobin looks confused, justifiably so. But other than that he still looks stunning in Yeonjun’s eyes. He’s wearing a denim jacket over his shirt that’s tucked into his dark jeans that highlight his long legs. His hair is styled slightly different today, a sliver of forehead peeking through his dark bangs. He actually wished Soobin would magically turn ugly by the time they meet again so he doesn’t have to deal with the inner turmoil of being physically attracted to his ex, but of course, no higher power would ever listen to him.

“Were you...waiting for me?” Soobin’s eyebrows knit together questioningly. 

“No. I mean yes. I mean...can we talk?” 

It takes a few seconds for Soobin to respond, but he agrees and walks with Yeonjun to the in-campus Starbucks. 

“What’s going on?” 

“Do you remember...in high school…” Yeonjun finds himself in two minds about how he’s going to open up the topic, suddenly terrible at confrontation. 

“You mean when hyung and I dated? Course I remember.” Soobin somehow makes it sound surprisingly easy, sipping casually on his foamy drink after speaking. 

“Right. Yeah.” Yeonjun chortles awkwardly, a bit of the coffee he just sipped rising to his nose and back to his throat. He suppresses the need to cough and nods at Soobin. “High school, man. I don’t even remember half the things that happened back then.” 

Soobin sends him a dimpled smile. “They’re still pretty vivid in my memory.” 

The way Yeonjun hears the words has him collapsing into a coughing fit, and Soobin goes over to pat his back worriedly. 

The sudden proximity and the touching does not help lessen Yeonjun’s discomfort. He coughs. “I’m fine. Sit down, please. I’m good.” He offers a smile that looks more pained than reassuring. “How about us? Are we good?” 

Soobin returns to his seat, face marred with confusion. Now’s not the time for him to be feigning incredulity, Yeonjun thinks. “Why wouldn’t we be? Are you sure you’re okay?” 

“It’s just— aren’t you mad at me? For breaking up with you?” 

“Hyung...why would I be mad? That was years ago. Even if you did lie about prep school and went on a summer beach trip with your friends in Jeju after graduation, I wasn’t mad.” 

The passive-aggressive way in which he delivered the words has Yeonjun thinking he was _ definitely _ pissed or hurt, at least at the time he found out. Fuck, he feels guilty. 

“Still. I’m sorry. Sorry I lied and broke up with you like that all of a sudden. I was stupid. I should have been honest with you.” Says Yeonjun. 

Soobin chuckles. “Honestly I said what I said because I wanted to tease you. But seriously it’s all good. I haven’t even thought of it until we met again.” 

Yeonjun would like to believe he’s a great person who lives fondly in the memories of people he’s met, so the fact that Soobin hadn’t thought of him in a long time inflicts a small dent on his ego, but he lets it slide because to be fair, Soobin hadn’t crossed his mind either. Oh and also, he dumped him. So he shouldn’t blame the guy for having moved on. 

Although he does find he feels some form of relief upon hearing Soobin’s words, so there’s that. He can stop feeling guilty for breaking up with him with the reason being: he basically thought he was sleep-inducingly boring. 

“Okay. That’s...cool. Whew, what a relief.” 

“Glad you got that out of your system. No more sleepless nights.” Soobin offers a tight lipped smile. And immediately Yeonjun feels bad again. 

“Wait, you, I—“ 

“Oh my God you’re so funny, hyung.” Soobin cackles like he thinks Yeonjun is some personification of a 90s sitcom. And Yeonjun wonders when the hell Soobin became this rude and sassy, putting him on the spot like this. All he remembers is the guy being _ too _shy and anxious to do anything with him that they always ended up staring at their shoes while sipping on juice boxes at the park. “Sorry! I’ll stop messing with you now.” Soobin finally relaxes. 

Yeonjun can only laugh awkwardly at everything. It’s almost like he’d given Soobin mocking privileges by apologizing for dumping him ages ago. He’s pretty much digging his own grave at this point. 

“Alright alright you’ve had your fun.” Yeonjun says with only a hint of exasperation. 

Soobin’s expression softens and melts into a small smile, and Yeonjun thinks, despite the shit he’s been pulling, he’s still unbelievably handsome. “In all seriousness, I’m doing okay and it’s nice to know you are too. Also Beomgyu is really cool and I like hanging out with him. I know you guys are like super close. Nothing awkward?” 

“No! Of course not. Yeah no it’s all good. I’ve honestly been waiting for someone to take him off my hands. If I have to be the only one who has to listen to him talk about his boyfriend’s hairy legs on the daily, I will kill myself.” 

Soobin laughs softly and shakes his head. “I mean like, if we end up hanging out, with both you and I, it shouldn’t be awkward, right?” 

Yeonjun hadn’t really thought about seeing Soobin much more frequently now that Beomgyu has (re)acquainted them. The strong probability only now dawns on him and he isn’t sure if he’s completely okay with constantly seeing his (painfully attractive) ex. 

But of course, with practiced ease, Yeonjun lies through his teeth. “Course not.” 

“Friends?” Soobin cracks a smile. 

“Friends. Sure.”

“I should go. I have a quiz in like fifteen minutes. But I’m really glad we got to talk, hyung.” Soobin tells him as he prepares to leave.

“Oh, yeah. Me too. Good luck with your quiz thing.”

“Yeah, thanks.” He says. “I like what you did with your hair by the way. Blue hair actually suits you.” He adds, before waving goodbye and trudging towards the exit.

Yeonjun reaches up to touch his own hair and mumbles softly to himself. “Cool. Thanks. Appreciate it.” 

He really didn’t need to leave Yeonjun with a mildly fluttering feeling in the pit of his stomach like that.

+x+

For Yeonjun, the following week swoops steadily in freights of coursework and copious amounts of caffeinated drinks. Things have considerably gone back to normal after the university fair had reached its conclusion, and Yeonjun is more than thankful that a certain someone hasn’t followed through with his whole friendship agenda among other things. 

It’s not that he doesn’t want to be friends with Soobin. The guy had been graceful enough to even consider it with him despite everything. It’s also what he wanted in the first place in order to get rid of the awkward past clouding over their heads. So what is his deal, one might ask. 

It’s the inexorable physical attraction. It’s what’s getting in the way of the virtuous desire to engage in a platonic relationship. Yeonjun has never once thought Beomgyu looked notably good in a pair of regular light wash jeans and he has never looked twice at Wooyoung’s hair and thought wow he’d really like to run his fingers through it. Lastly, never in his entire college career has he forged an image in his head of Changbin smirking provocatively at him until he’s a blushing mess. It’s just completely unthinkable. But with Soobin, it’s almost an all-consuming occurrence in his head, especially when he’s sitting through boring lectures and lengthy presentations. 

This is why he makes a conscious effort to avoid Soobin at all costs. 

Soobin plans on going to the student center too? No problem, Yeonjun can just study in the dorm. 

They’re walking the same direction? No need to worry. There’s a detour that takes twice as long to get to the Biology building but at least he doesn’t have to deal with Soobin’s presence next to him.

It’s a tedious process, but Yeonjun sees to it, because he’s not going to be the guy who dumps someone for being boring and proceed to go after that same guy four years later because he’s somehow way better-looking than Yeonjun remembers. Yeonjun isn’t that shallow, and Yeonjun is not a thot.

When Changbin tells him that Beomgyu invited the current bane of his existence to band practice slash jam session tonight, Yeonjun quickly decides he doesn’t want to go despite initially agreeing to be friends and saying it isn’t going to be awkward. Newsflash, Yeonjun is still working on pummeling down his immoral affliction for his ex before he can even begin to really consider actual friendship. 

So thankfully he can use his job as an excuse without having to argue. 

“I can’t go. Jiminie-hyung is sick so I’m stuck at the clinic for at least three more hours.” Yeonjun tells Changbin over the phone. Surprisingly he didn’t need to lie because Jimin _ is _ sick. But in his words, the only time he’ll be skipping work is when he’s literally _ dying _. So right now he’s in the back office wrapped in a burrito blanket while Yeonjun is at the clinic reception doodling stylistic penises on multicolored post-it notes. “I’ll see if I can catch up later but don’t wait up.” 

It’s late in the afternoon, and patients typically come in the mornings unless it’s an emergency, which is pretty rare. He doesn’t have much of anything to do besides wait for Jimin to wake up and tell him he’s free to go. 

But when you’re not doing anything in an eerily quiet clinic that smells faintly of antiseptic after a long week of being a senior college student, the normal response would be to fall asleep, so Yeonjun does just that.

Except by the time he’s completely pulled into a deep slumber, he’s abruptly jolted awake by the shrill sound of a dog’s bark. 

“Christ fuck!” He exclaims, and he’s immediately greeted by a familiar face. 

Soobin is standing by the entrance, a light brown mixed-puppy cradled in his arms as he sends Yeonjun an amused smirk. Yeonjun pinches himself to see if he’s dreaming, then quickly comes to the conclusion that he is in fact wide awake and that is in fact, Soobin wearing an oversized pink hoodie holding a little dog while _ smirking _ at him. 

And really, it’s as if the higher beings have gathered and conspired against him and his goal to avoid his ex-boyfriend by leading him right fucking here, to the place where Yeonjun works, and not at that smelly old studio Beomgyu had rented where he’s _ supposed _to be. Goddamnit. 

“Nice to see you too, Jun-hyung.” Soobin snickers. “I didn’t know you work here.” 

“Sorry, I was…” Yeonjun tries to answer, but words betray him. 

“I thought this was a vet clinic, not a hotel…” Soobin jokes and trails off, gaze narrowing at Yeonjun’s face as he trudges forward. 

Yeonjun’s own eyes widen in response, body instinctively leaning backwards when Soobin presses against the reception desk. “Wha—.”

“You’ve got something on your cheek.” He states, his arm stretching to gesture towards whatever it is that’s on Yeonjun’s face. “Anyway, my friend told me this was the most accessible clinic and the next one is like way outside the main city. My friend is Google, by the way. Is there a doctor?” He casually rambles on. 

Yeonjun slinks back on his high chair and catches a glimpse of his reflection on the small wall mirror. An ink stain has made its mark on the lower half of his left cheek, courtesy of the uncapped pen he’d slept on just now. He stupidly reaches up to cover it with his hand as he tries to string coherent words in response to Soobin’s inquiry. 

“The doctor is uh well. He’s in the back. I’ll go get him.” He tells Soobin, still in a mild state of disorientation from being woken up so suddenly. 

“Actually I think she needs immediate help. Looks like she’s in a lot of pain.” Soobin informs him, expression filled with concern. 

Yeonjun looks at the dog and frowns when he notices the nasty wound on its hindleg. “Is she your pet?” 

“No, I saw her on my way to the guys’ band practice. She’s a stray, I think. No collar. Someone or something must have hit her hard.” Soobin’s lower lip juts to a small pout, and it looks so soft and pretty. Yeonjun needs to focus on the matter at hand. 

“I see. Nice of you to pick her up and take her here.” Yeonjun comments before leading Soobin further inside the clinic and motioning for him to place the dog on top of the examination table. 

Soobin shrugs after gently putting the dog down. “I just did pretty much what any sane person would do. Though she’s actually the third stray I’ve picked up since I moved here. It’s a good thing I found some good people to adopt the first two because I can only hide them in my dorm for so long. My roommate is this close to reporting me.” 

So aside from being easy on the eyes, he also makes it a habit to pick up stray animals and find families for them. Of fucking course. That’s exactly what Yeonjun needs to hear to exterminate the crush that’s threatening to manifest. 

“That’s...wow. You’re kind of like a superhero then, huh? I mean, for animals.” Yeonjun fumbles on his words, which has been happening more times around Soobin than Yeonjun would like. It’s so uncharacteristic of him, and he _ hates _ it. 

“I hardly do anything. You’re the one who’s Mister Veterinary Assistant, helping fix the furbabies’ boo-boos and shit.” Soobin points to the nametag fixed on Yeonjun’s left boob. 

“Yes the monthly payout certainly makes it fulfilling.” Yeonjun quips. 

“C’mon hyung, you can’t tell me you’re not attached to the job. You used to say you wanted to work as a zookeeper. You even did animal imitations and stuff.” 

The fact that Soobin remembers that small detail he’s mentioned probably once several years ago comes as a surprise to Yeonjun, and he can’t help but raise his eyebrows. “You remember that?” 

“I have a pretty good memory.” 

“Cool.” Yeonjun feigns nonchalance at Soobin’s casual response, but inside he’s anything _ but _ cool. “But you got me there. I do like this job a lot. The animals are great, and my boss is a pushover so it makes it all the more worthwhile.” He lets out a dry laugh.

Soobin laughs softly in return before leaning in. “How is it?” He asks, completely changing the subject.

Yeonjun catches a whiff of his cologne from the proximity, and it’s a heady and masculine scent, nothing he would ever associate with the image of Soobin from high school. For a second he feels dizzy, and he blames it on the smell instead of the fact that Soobin’s face is inches away from his. 

He mentally shakes off the unnecessary thoughts and looks at the dog’s condition closely. “The wound isn’t that deep, which is good. I just need to clean it up and put a bandage on her.” 

Soobin perks up at this, looking very pleased. “That’s awesome. I’m glad.” He reaches over to scratch behind the dog’s ear, grinning happily. Yeonjun feels his eye twitch a little at the _ disgustingly _adorable sight. 

“You can sit by the waiting room while I take care of her. Don’t worry, I actually know what I’m doing. Well, at least the basic stuff like this.” Yeonjun reassures. 

“Oh, yeah okay. Right.” Soobin offers two thumbs up and gives the dog one last gentle pet before taking a step back and disappearing into the waiting room. 

“Surprise, bitch. I bet you thought you’d seen the last of me.” Yeonjun ceremoniously reemerges from behind the curtain minutes later with the puppy in his arms, all bandaged and good as new. It was a bit of a feat to accomplish considering how she kept squirming and whimpering from the pain, but Yeonjun had made sure to be careful and patient, even giving her a few reinforcing belly scratches here and there. 

Soobin appears to be amused by this, lips stretching to a smile as he straightens up and walks towards Yeonjun until he’s full on chuckling. 

Yeonjun’s eyebrows push together in confusion. “Alright you don’t need to fake laugh at my 2010 tumblr meme reference. Neither of us watched American Horror Story I’m sure of it.” 

“No it’s—hyung. Look.” Soobin abruptly places his large hands on Yeonjun’s shoulders and twists him around before maneuvering him towards the wall mirror. “I just realized you still have the ink stain on your face.” 

Yeonjun wills himself to not collapse on the floor from the unforeseen manhandling, and forces out a laugh. “Shit, I forgot all about it.” _ Because you’re awfully distracting, _he opts not to say. 

“Okay well, I’ll leave you to it. I’m off to compose another Please Adopt this Baby Pupper or Rot in Hell tweet and hope for the best.” Soobin declares and takes the puppy from Yeonjun’s hands. 

“I can keep her here for a while if you want.” Yeonjun blurts out before he can stop himself. Oh fuck it. “Until you find a new family for her. Wouldn’t want you to get reported for doing a good deed.” 

“Wait. Are you serious? Fuck, that’d actually be great.” 

The random f-bomb takes Yeonjun aback. He somehow never thought to associate cursing and bad words with someone as pretty and gentle as Soobin, but he relents, because he actually likes it. He’d always found cursing extremely hot—well all of ten seconds since Soobin muttered the one cuss word. 

And he’s spiraling again in mere seconds. Jesus Christ. 

“Dead serious. My boss is actually super nice and he’s here every day, and I’m here M-T-TH so it’s all good.” He nods and takes back the puppy. 

“Thanks, hyung. I owe you.” Soobin beams. “I’ll come and visit her when you’re here.” 

Soon after Soobin leaves the clinic, Yeonjun is left contemplating his life choices.

+x+

Yeonjun would be lying if he says he isn’t disappointed by the fact that Soobin had said no to an off-campus party hosted by a group of seniors, including Yeonjun’s best friend Changbin. But then again, Yeonjun is not above constantly lying to himself to save the little dignity and pride he has left re: his ex-boyfriend. It’s stupid, because it’s not like Soobin’s purposely making his life miserable. It’s all on him and his inability to get over himself and his (oppressive) crush.

Approaching exam seasons don’t typically warrant this sort of raucous partying and indecent behavior, but seniors under the guise of stress coping mechanisms from pressures of graduation would like to think they get a pass for at least one night. 

Parties and the like are kind of Yeonjun’s thing. He enjoys surrounding himself with people, and his MBTI personality profile can easily vouch for him. He’s the type to be jumping from one group of people to another, entertaining and chatting. He’s naturally good with words, better when he’s had the right amount of liquor. Consequently, terrible, when he’s had too much. So he tells himself to slow down a little bit. 

Okay it’s not like he has any profound reason to stay completely sober for the night (not that he’d stay sober for anything or _ anyone _). He tells himself it’s because he doesn’t want a repeat of the last time he got utterly drunk at an illicit off-campus party. He had to watch himself with sheer horror through Hyunjin’s phone screen the following day after someone had uploaded a video of him on Twitter where he’d stripped himself down to his fitted Pokémon briefs and belched an outrageous trot song on the outdoor karaoke while dancing sensually. After that he proceeded to canon-ball into the pool while screaming ‘BTS was robbed!’. 

It was bad enough, but what made it even worse was that he was so tanked that night he didn’t even get to have sex with anyone, which was a mortal loss in his books. 

That is why he’s taking it slow tonight, settling for the least offensive drinks, and actually trying to enjoy the night with a sound mind intact. 

He’s in the kitchen trying to figure out who ordered six boxes of vegetarian pizzas and 2 meat lovers instead of the other way around when Changbin comes waltzing in with a scandalized look on his face. Speaking of pizza. 

“Is that...flavored beer in your hand? The Yeonjun I know would be doing tequila shooters while bodying a Tinashe song on the pool table by now. Who are you?” Changbin gawks at him incredulously, a more than tipsy Seungmin slung over his shoulders moaning about another round of Drunk Jenga. The guy never really held his liquor all that well, and sure enough, it only takes a few seconds before he’s producing loud gagging noises and running straight for the bathroom. Both Changbin and Yeonjun make a face. 

“It is what it is, Bin. I’m a changed man.” Yeonjun raises his bottle of lemon infused beer with a flare. 

Changbin scoffs. “Like hell you are.” 

“I’m hurt you would doubt me. My own best friend.” 

“That is exactly why I have the power to doubt you. I’ve known you since elementary school and I know how your little Juni brain cells work. You’re literally thinking about having sex with Lucas right now.” Changbin says matter-of-factly after possibly catching Yeonjun throw Lucas a side glance. 

“What was that again?” Yeonjun feigns innocence and smiles skittishly at his best friend once Lucas disappears into the large crowd in the living room.

Changbin thumps him gently upside the head and scowls. “The timid girl in glasses standing awkwardly in the middle of the room act doesn’t suit you, douchebag. Unleash your true form! Switch it up and grind that beer-stained carpet to some unintelligible Ariana song like the Yeonjun we all know and love. Who are you even trying to fool? Soobin isn’t even coming.” 

Yeonjun shushes his friend upon the mention of Soobin’s name, as if it’s some scandalous hate crime waiting to be filmed and spread over the internet like wildfire. He seriously regrets filling Changbin in on the 411. 

“Are you fucking crazy?” 

“What? He’s not coming! He told me himself!” Changbin declares and proceeds to yell Soobin’s name multiple times just to irritate Yeonjun and trigger murderous scenarios in his head. 

“Soobin Soobin Soobin Soobin...is here.” Changbin visibly flinches. 

“What’s up hyung?” Says a much too familiar voice out of the blue. 

Just like that, the world fucking _ stops, _in that way similar to when someone trips on the LAN cord while you’re getting completely immersed in a David Dobrik vlog and there’s no wifi. 

The only thing Yeonjun hears thereon after is the muffled bass of the Mamamoo song playing in the background and Changbin’s low distorted voice going “Oh fuck.” 

“Soobinie! Hey, glad you could make it.” Changbin seemingly recovers and quickly turns to face the aforementioned male. 

“You don’t look too glad though, hyung.” Soobin chuckles as he takes a few steps further into the kitchen where two dillholes are standing with their mouths agape. 

“What? No. This is _ so _ not my I-had-no-idea-you-were-coming-hence-I’m-going-to-pretend-to-be-pleasantly-surprised face.” 

Soobin snickers before he’s downright laughing. “Can always count on this hyung to make me laugh.” 

Changbin’s smile shifts to a proud one at that. “I knew I liked you! I actually am glad you came. Enjoy the party!” He slaps Soobin’s back goodnaturedly and slips out of the kitchen. 

“Jun-hyung, hey.” A smile stretches Soobin’s lips as he turns his attention to Yeonjun. 

Truthfully, he had been avoiding getting shitfaced in the first two hours of this party for one reason, and it’s that reason he’s been vehemently denying since the minute he’d arrived. It’s because a small but significant part of him has been hoping for Soobin to magically appear. While the more conscious, slightly paranoid part of him that continues to deny his feelings wanted nothing more than to diminish this tiny crevice of hope. 

Except now Soobin _ is _here, and there’s an overwhelming sense of fulfillment from that part of him that hoped for it. He’ll beat himself up over that later, he knows. But right now he takes this as a sign that perhaps there’s no harm in engaging. 

“Hyung, you okay?” 

Only then does Yeonjun bounce back from his brief comatose moment. “Oh, hey! You made it.”

“Yeah I went out to buy snacks and when I got back, I found out my roommate sexiled me so I took a walk and inevitably ended up here.” Soobin explains. “And by inevitably I mean I couldn’t think of anywhere else to go so I looked up the address Beomgyu sent on Google Maps and just went. Want some fresh bread?” 

“No thanks I can’t eat anything when I’m drinking.” Did he really just come to a college party fueled by booze with a bag of freshly baked bread? Yeonjun is this close to going feral. 

“Sorry, bread is just my favorite thing to eat. I once took a baking class sophomore year and ate the raw dough off my mixing bowl because I got too excited. My instructor failed me and I had diarrhea for days. Not my best moment. But, it’s delicious, like eating clouds.” He stops himself with a soft chuckle. 

Just looking at Soobin and listening to him talk about bread (and diarrhea apparently) somehow reduces Yeonjun’s conceived inner peace to a belligerent mess of emotions. 

“I actually remember this.” And it’s true. Somehow Soobin rambling had triggered a once dormant memory in the deep seats of his mind. “You told me the same thing about bread being like a cloud before. When I gave you mine after being too full.” 

Soobin’s dimples choose that moment to make a reappearance. “Yeah.” His smile looks so pleased, and Yeonjun would like to think it’s because he remembered. 

“Anyway, I already ate a bunch on the way here so I need something to drink. Can I try yours?” He nods toward the drink in Yeonjun’s hand. 

Yeonjun purses his lips and hands Soobin his half-empty bottle of beer, head quickly filled with juvenile thoughts of indirectly kissing his crush. It’s fucking stupid, because he’s a grown ass adult, but it gives him butterflies in his stomach anyway. 

Soobin takes a quick swig of the beer and makes a refreshed sound. “Lemon? I like it. But I didn’t think of this as something you’d enjoy drinking at a party, hyung.” He hands the bottle back to Yeonjun with an amused smile. “How ‘bout we get a real drink?” 

“I don’t know what gave you the impression that I don’t enjoy drinking beverages with teeny weeny alcohol content.” 

“I don’t know hyung, maybe because BTS was robbed? And Pokémon briefs are cool? I don’t know…” Soobin playfully shrugs, tone teasing. 

Yeonjun is going to _ kill _Hyunjin, or Beomgyu, whoever he stumbles upon first. 

“Oh my God…electric chair.” 

Now Soobin is downright guffawing, his head thrown back like a devious child while his hands clap together like an enthused seal. The sight on its own makes Yeonjun laugh and dissipates whatever fury he’d felt about Hyunjin or Beomgyu exposing him (at least for now). 

“I thought it was hilarious. And cute.” Soobin says. 

Cheesy as it sounds, Yeonjun thinks his heart skips a bit at that tiny little comment, but he chalks it up as completely friendly and quickly composes himself. He doesn’t say anything except invite Soobin over to the patio where most of the partying was at. 

They end up chatting by the pool—about the dogs Soobin had rescued, the funny things Yeonjun has encountered in college and bits and pieces of the past he somehow lets himself remember with Soobin’s help. It’s nice, because it isn’t awkward like he’d anticipated. Maybe this whole friendship thing might actually work, and maybe, Soobin does forgive him for breaking his heart. 

Somehow the two of them get roped into a game of spin the bottle with a bunch of other seniors and a few underclassmen. It’s a little childish; it reminds Yeonjun of 6th grade when a group of girls invited him to play just so one of them could get a chance to steal a kiss from him (ah, the good old days). But he revels in these sorts of things anyway, gets the fire inside him going. 

Traditionally, spin the bottle evokes the choices Truth or Dare, but everyone knows Dare is where the thrill peaks. So in this counterfeit version, everyone decides to veto Truth, because with a conclave of alcohol-infused college students, no one really cares to hear the truth. What people want, is an excuse to do really stupid shit. 

The first few rounds are considerably tame, with normal drinking dares and the occasional “sexy” dances. It’s all child’s play, Yeonjun knows, and he typically doesn’t think too much about these things but Soobin is right there, sitting across from him with an excited gleam in his eyes as he watches the scenes unfold. It’s kind of cute, but also scary, because Yeonjun wants nothing more than for the odds to be in his favor. 

The truth is, Yeonjun really wants to kiss Soobin. 

He knows that he’s not going to be able to do it outside this ridiculous set-up because he’s finally getting fully acquainted with the idea of being friends. It’s just, he needs to get it out of his system and this might be his only chance without it being totally uncalled for. 

The dare Yeonjun had gotten was bland at best. But even though he’d whined and roared about getting a “real” dare, he’d done it anyway. All he had to do was blow hot air into the ears of the girl sitting next to him on his left, which was this incredibly pretty girl named Yeji. It hadn’t felt all that sensual to him compared to how he made it look. But he’s a performer of sorts, and he wasn’t the type to disappoint his audience. 

Yeonjun is on his fourth shot of tequila by the time the dares get even close to carnal, which is a huge surprise, but also sort of a relief. If he gets the chance to kiss Soobin tonight, he’s going to need all the liquid courage he can imbibe. 

“Make out with the person you think is the cutest.” Jaemin slurs, provocative gaze aimed at Donghyuck who had just recovered from a tequila shot. 

“For how long?” Donghyuck asks, a bit woozy. 

“A minute.” Jaemin states firmly, and the crowd erupts in jeers and howls. 

Just as things were getting interesting, Jimin decides to call Yeonjun and spam him with text messages. So of course, in a mild frenzy, Yeonjun steps out of the circle and scurries to answer the call. 

In the midst of his phone call, though, his eyes catch a glimpse of the spectacle within the growing circle of inebriated youth. There he registers Soobin, whose lips are very much attached to Lee Donghyuck’s in a languid and sensual motion while everyone else cheers and yells rowdily for them. 

He’d half-expected this from Donghyuck, cause well, the guy snatched kisses from everybody like he was stealing candy from babies. But right now, Yeonjun feels a lot like it’s _ his _ candy that was stolen. 

Disconcerting would be an understatement, because truthfully Yeonjun feels like every drop of alcohol he’d consumed is turning into hot, sweltering acid inside him. There’s something else, a feeling he doesn’t want to fully entertain, that’s clambering in his chest. He feels sick to his stomach, and it takes all his will to not throw up into the nearest unsuspecting decorative pot. 

A soft clicking sound is heard from his phone, indicating the other line had dropped the call first. He’ll have to remind himself to send Jimin a text later, but right now, he needs to breathe. 

He doesn’t say anything or tell anyone as he trudges outside for some fresh air. _ What the hell was that? _He berates himself. He knew he had a crush and he knew he was attracted to Soobin, but what he didn’t realize was the gravity of this attraction, or the possibility of it being far beyond levels he can accommodate. 

Yeonjun would like to think he isn’t the jealous type, but just now he’d felt something very close to the dreaded emotion, and it’s kind of terrifying. It’s terrifying because it’s Soobin, the guy he’d rejected and left behind years ago for some childish, superficial reason. And he can’t possibly ask for anything more from him after what he did.

+x+

It’s been a week since exams ended, and a week since Yeonjun has seen Soobin. He’s back to completely avoiding him now in favor of building his wall of apprehension back up, and this time he’s determined to keep it that way. 

“You are so painfully single, it’s hard to watch.” Beomgyu sullenly tells him while they’re playing a game of Mario Kart in Minho’s apartment. 

“Totally uncalled for!” Yeonjun bitterly reaches over to take the Switch controller out of Beomgyu’s hand, causing his character to teeter off-track and get inevitably stuck. 

“What the fuck!” Beomgyu exclaims from where he’s resting his head on Hyunjin’s lap. Hyunjin clasps a hand over his boyfriend’s mouth to shut him up. 

“Thank you.” Yeonjun rolls his eyes. 

“He’s not wrong though.” Says Hyunjin. “You’re totally third-wheeling yourself right now. You’re always hanging out with Beom and I. You need a boyfriend, hyung.” 

“Correction, fifth-wheeling.” Jisung yells from the kitchen where he’s hindering Minho from making dinner at a faster pace. 

Yeonjun finishes the race with a loud groan. “Y’all should shut the fuck up. I am happy being single. I’m happy to be getting all the dick with no commitment whatsoever. I. Am. Happy.” 

“The fact that you have to convince us with actual words kind of discredits that, hyung. It’s Saturday night and you’re here with us. When was the last time you even slept with anyone? Or went on a date?” Hyunjin says matter-of-factly. 

Yeonjun swears, he loves his friends, but when they decide to gang up on him and scrutinize his love life—or lack thereof, he can’t help but feel _ utterly _attacked. 

The last time he had sex with anyone was, admittedly, before Soobin had re-entered his life. But he refuses to accept that that was the reason he hasn’t been trying to get laid. He just hasn’t been thinking about it all that much—which, again, has nothing to do with Soobin. 

“I like hanging out with you guys! Is that so wrong? Do you want me to leave? Is that it? So you guys can have that orgy you’ve been wanting to have without me? That it?” Yeonjun tells them in that high-pitched way he does when he’s being both defensive and accusing. 

“Technically, orgies should have at least five people. It would just be called a foursome without you.” Jisung states, and if Minho didn’t have a gigantic plate of hot food in both his hands, he’d be face palming. 

“Gross! I’m not letting any of you near my virgin ass. I’m staying pure until South Korea legalizes gay marriage.” Beomgyu declares, to which Hyunjin quietly and dryly responds with wow I’m so lucky to be dating you. 

“But for real, what’s up with you?” Minho finally joins the conversation. 

“It’s what I like to call, self-love. You guys should try it sometime.” Yeonjun states. 

“That’s what you called it too when you spent an entire semester sleeping around. Which is it?” Beomgyu deadpans. 

“You guys are unbelievable! I don’t need this right now.” Yeonjun plasters on a scandalized expression.

  
  


Despite Yeonjun’s protests, his friends decided to take control of his dating life and set him up with a guy Hyunjin had befriended on an inter-collegiate Sports Fest a few months ago. After one look at the guy’s photo, Yeonjun decided he shouldn’t be complaining. 

Seunghun is nice. He’s absolutely hot and totally Yeonjun’s type. He’s polite and a good conversationalist, which sends him right up Yeonjun’s alley. The sex was good, exceptional even. He might actually take a spot in Yeonjun’s top five lays right below Lucas, which is considerably high praise if you ask literally anyone in the entire campus. So why does he feel completely empty? The answer is obvious, but Yeonjun feels too guilty to do anything about it. 

He hasn’t stopped thinking about that night he saw Soobin kissing Donghyuck. The image is etched in his mind like a fucking curse that can only be broken if he somehow acquires severe brain damage. He knew it was meant to be just a playful, mindless dare, but the way Soobin looked like was enjoying it just made it feel like it was something else completely. He hates the way his stomach churns at the thought. 

He glances at the sleeping figure next to him, the light from his screen tracing Seunghun’s silhouette quite nicely. He worries his lips and stares at his phone again, Soobin’s name glaring at him from his existing chat threads. 

Soobin hasn’t made any effort to talk to him either in the last week, so when a ‘typing’ bubble appears right below Soobin’s name at 1AM, Yeonjun swears his heart fucking stops. 

**Soobin**

Jun-hyung?

Sorry for chatting you so late. 

I can’t sleep.

Sorry if you’re asleep.

1:12AM

His messages come one after the other, and Yeonjun has to stop himself from replying immediately. Wait it out a bit, he tells himself before typing in his reply. 

hey

it’s ok i’m still up

why can’t u sleep?

1:14AM

**Soobin**

I’m thinking about the dog.

I feel bad for letting her stay with Jimin-hyung.

The guy I found to adopt her hasn’t texted me back in like a week.

I’m afraid he flaked. :/ 

1:14AM

don’t worry about it

jiminie-hyung is taking good care of her

he likes having company anyway

if he flakes, i’m sure someone else will come around

1:15AM

Soobin has read his replies, but he doesn’t respond, which throws Yeonjun into a mild state of panic. Did he say anything wrong? Did he unintentionally end their conversation? God, this is annoying. Why can’t he fucking relax?

**Soobin**

Thank you, hyung.

1:20AM

Can I call you?

1:21AM

By now Yeonjun is just about to lose it. But not quite. He slowly slips out of bed and carefully, with practiced ease, tip-toes around the room to gather his clothes.

sure just give me a sec

1:22AM

**Soobin**

Okay. :)

1:22AM

He sends Soobin the go signal when he’s out of the apartment building, braving the reclusive path back to his dorm. 

“Hey, sorry. I was just...out. What’s up?” 

It’s eerily quiet on the other end of the call before Soobin finally speaks. 

_ “I couldn’t sleep. I’m taking a walk right now near campus.” _

“Oh.” Yeonjun pauses, and then quickly musters the courage to ask. “I’m actually just around the area. Do you wanna hang out or something?” 

_ “Really? Ah, that would be cool actually. Where should we meet?” _

“I’ll come to you. Where you at?” 

_ “There’s this bakery that’s open 24-hours here. It’s called—“ _

“Panpan. Yeah, I’m familiar. I’ll see you there.” 

_ “Okay hyung. Thanks.” _Yeonjun thinks he hears a smile in Soobin’s voice, which in turn makes the corners of his lips stretch as well. 

Soobin is donning a long knitted cardigan over a plain shirt and jeans, hair uncharacteristically messy. He looks so fucking _ cute, _so Yeonjun has to restrain himself when he walks up to him. 

“Hey, I thought you’d be wolfing down on a baguette by the time I got here.” He teases. 

“I just finished eating two eclairs. Do you want anything?” 

Yeonjun chuckles. “No thanks.” 

“The hot chocolate here is bomb, hyung. I’m buying.” 

“Okay, well, if you put it that way.”

There’s a good arm length distance between them when they walk, and Yeonjun shouldn’t feel disappointed but he can’t help the way his heart sinks slowly but surely. He clutches at his cup of hot chocolate and tries to focus on the tangy aftertaste.

It’s nice though, because Soobin has a way with talking that calms him down and makes him forget about his woes even for a moment. He realizes how much things have changed, how much Soobin has changed from the once shy junior who confessed to him to this person who seems a lot more confident in himself and the way he speaks. It’s not fair, but he feels a little proud, despite not having played a part in this character development. 

“Do you still think about high school? Like when we dated?” Soobin asks, out of the blue.

“Uhm, no, not really. I mean, unless it’s brought up.” Yeonjun casually shrugs. 

“Ah.” Soobin chuckles. “Since seeing you again, I’ve been remembering a lot of things. I feel like since we’re friends again, we can talk and laugh about it now.” 

“Yeah. You’re right.” Yeonjun agrees. Friends. That’s clearly what they are and all they’ll ever be. His heart sinks even further down. “Hey, remember when you gave me that mint chocolate for V-day? I still remember how it tasted. It was so good.” 

Soobin snorts. “I was so baffled when I found out you liked that. I couldn’t believe I fell for a guy who enjoyed toothpaste for dessert.” 

“Yah! It’s not for everyone. Only those with refined taste-buds can appreciate its gloriousness.” Yeonjun fires back, but his tone doesn’t bite. 

“You must have thought you were so cool for liking that huh?” 

“I _ am _cool.” 

“You even made me taste it.” Soobin makes a face. 

“Oh my god. Right! I just remembered! You looked so mortified. I couldn’t believe it. You couldn’t even pretend to like it.” 

“Yeah but by then you’d already said yes to dating me so.” Soobin snickers. 

And then it’s quiet again. It gets harder and harder for him to pretend that things are fine and that he can look back and not feel like a complete asshole. He wonders how Soobin does it when he was the one Yeonjun had dumped heartlessly. 

Does he feel guilty because what he did was bad? Or is he guilty because he finds himself wanting more than he deserves? 

They end up walking quietly until their feet take them to a place near Yeonjun’s dorm, a street basketball court that younger students frequented after class. It’s dark and appears secluded, but the couple of street lamps illuminating half the court is inviting enough for Yeonjun to get an idea. 

“C’mon. Let’s play.” He nudges Soobin casually. 

“What? No no. I can’t. I _ suck _ at basketball. Or any sport for that matter. And I don’t think anything other than a ghoul should be hanging around here at this hour.” 

“Are you like, scared?” 

“Of demons or embarrassing myself? Both are equally terrifying.” 

Yeonjun cackles. “Why would you be embarrassed? It’s just me. And the ghost audience sitting by the bleachers.” 

Soobin whines. “Hyung!”

Yeonjun playfully punches Soobin and takes off his jacket, tossing it over the bleachers before retrieving the ball sitting idly in the middle of the court. 

Yeonjun wasn’t really the athletic type when he was young. He mostly hung out at PC-bangs with his friends. He only did well enough to pass P.E and only got picked during dodgeball because he was the most competitive. That being said though, he had always been naturally limber, which meant it wasn’t that difficult for him to catch up with his more athletic peers. 

He starts dribbling the ball like a hyperactive twelve year old while Soobin looks like he’s contemplating his life decisions. “Hyung. I really can’t play to save my life.” 

“It’s not a big deal, Soobin. Just catch!” He stretches his arm and passes the ball to Soobin who clumsily tries to catch it with his elbows crashing together and the ball flying off completely out of range. It looks comical and it makes Yeonjun laugh hysterically because okay, he supposes Soobin wasn’t exaggerating when he said he sucked at this. 

He jogs over and grabs the ball as it bounces up before holding it against his hip. “Wow you weren’t lying. You really do suck.” 

“I told you. Can’t we just play hopscotch or something?” Soobin states morosely. 

This is when Yeonjun comes up with the bright idea to witness more of Soobin’s cute attempts at playing basketball. 

“If you can steal the ball from me, I’ll let you in on a secret.” He taunts, knowing full well Soobin won’t be able to pull it off judging from what happened a minute ago. 

“You’re kidding right?” 

“Nope.” 

“Just tell me the secret, hyung. I swear I won’t tell anyone.” 

“I will. If you can steal the ball.” Yeonjun says firmly. 

Soobin looks like he’s in deep thought, and then he’s taking off his cardigan and shaking his head. Yeonjun is actually surprised he’s going to attempt it, but he maintains his cheeky disposition. 

“Three attempts.” 

“What?! I can’t do that!” 

Exactly, Yeonjun thinks impishly but says the complete opposite. “You can do it! I believe in you.” 

Soobin huffs, like it isn’t the cutest thing Yeonjun’s ever seen, and pulls his sleeves up to his elbows. His form is completely wrong, and even Yeonjun who isn’t too keen on playing basketball realizes this. It doesn’t matter though, because it’s all for a good laugh. 

Yeonjun starts dribbling again over and under his legs as he moves to his left. Soobin comes trudging towards him like a rhino and reaches for the ball between his legs, which proves to be ineffective because Yeonjun dodges him just in time. 

The second attempt gets Soobin a tad closer to victory because Yeonjun almost trips on his own shoelaces, but his quick reflexes still manage to salvage him from falling and the ball from Soobin’s hands.

The determined look on Soobin’s face has Yeonjun feeling a tad unhinged, causing him to mildly panic when Soobin lunges forward for the third time without any sign or warning, and crashes into him, gracelessly resulting in the two of them falling into a mess of limbs and sweat on the ground. The ball had already flown and rolled to a place invisible to him from where he’s lying down, and Soobin is resting weightily on top of him with his chest pressed against Yeonjun’s.

It takes all his spiritual will when he prays to the highest deities that Soobin doesn’t feel the way his heart is _ pounding _ in his chest. He can smell that same perfume Soobin’s been wearing with a mix of sweat and laundry detergent and it makes him nauseous, like he’s about to pass out, which he supposes bodes well for the fact that he’s already flat on the ground. 

Soobin pushes himself up enough to be able to look down at Yeonjun in the eyes and mutter an apology. “Shit! I’m sorry I…” And then he trails off, gaze seemingly stuck on Yeonjun’s face. 

They end up staring at each other for longer than Yeonjun feels is socially acceptable, and the way he’s fighting the urge to straight up press his lips against Soobin’s might actually be comparable to dangling a bag of meth in front of a drug addict. Okay maybe the plot of Breaking Bad shouldn’t be in the forefront of his mind in this moment, but it felt like a weirdly appropriate analogy. Except, he’s never really had a taste of Soobin’s lips to be addicted to it. 

But from the way Soobin’s lips look so soft and inviting, even in this considerably dim lighting, he knows for sure that once he gets a taste, he’ll never want to stop. A small part of him thinks Soobin wants it too, but it’s dangerous to cling to that thought, so he pushes them back down desperately. 

“Okay, get off me.” Yeonjun urges, which Soobin quickly obliges. 

“Sorry, hyung. I got carried away.” Soobin scratches his cheek sheepishly. 

“It’s okay. It was a stupid challenge anyway. Your suckage is clearly incurable. I’m sorry I even tried.” 

Soobin purses his lips. “Yeah. And I guess I’ll never know your secret.” 

“I guess so.”

“Why did you leave all of a sudden?” Soobin asks after a long quiet walk back to their university, where both their dorms were closely situated at. 

“Huh?” Yeonjun sends Soobin a confused gawk. 

“At the party. I looked for you but you were gone. What happened?” 

Yeonjun’s heart picks up at that. He didn’t actually think Soobin looked for him after what happened. “I just, I needed some air. I was getting really drunk. I got my friend to take me home.” 

“Oh. Okay, that makes sense. For some reason I thought it was something I did. But yeah, that’s good.” 

Yeonjun offers a half-hearted smile and lies through his teeth. “Course not, stupid. I just didn’t want to bother you because you seemed to be having a lot of fun.” He hopes Soobin doesn’t sense the bitterness in his tone. 

Soobin’s expression turns shy. “It did get a little out of hand. I wasn’t expecting it at all.” 

“You looked like you enjoyed it.” And Yeonjun regrets saying this as soon as it came out of his mouth. 

“Well—” 

In that exact moment, his phone rings, a XXXTentacion song erupting from his pocket like a blow horn amidst a quiet library. He mentally scolds himself for forgetting to change the ring tone Changbin had set for him as a joke before it gets the chance to embarrass him, but a larger part of him is thankful for the impeccable timing. Because he was dreading the second Soobin confirms his suspicion—that he really did enjoy sucking faces with some other guy at a party. 

He glances at the screen and declines the call, opting to send a message response instead. “It’s Beomgyu. He’s probably worried, or making sure I wasn’t home so he can bring his boyfriend to our room. Either way I have to get back.” He types in a quick message before pocketing his phone. 

Soobin nods slowly in understanding. “Oh yeah yeah it’s late. I mean I don’t think my roommate could care less if I got kidnapped and had my organs harvested for the black market but I should go too. For me.” He laughs softly. 

Yeonjun bites his lower lip. “Do you want me to walk you to your dorm or?” 

“No I’m good, no one’s going to want to kidnap me. Thanks for the offer, hyung. I’ll see you around.” 

“Aight. Take care.”

Beomgyu is sitting on his computer chair with arms folded over his chest like a scorned wife when Yeonjun switches the night lamp on. 

“Jesus fucking Christ!” He practically jumps. 

“I’m flattered but it’s just me. Your _ roommate _ who’s been looking for you _ everywhere _!” He abruptly stands up. “Where the hell have you been, Choi Yeonjun?” 

“That’s _ hyung _ to you. And shut up, you called me literally once.” 

Beomgyu switches to a more resigned expression in a split second. “Okay so I was asleep the entire evening because Hyunjin and I had a fight. So I woke up super early and found you weren’t here. I take it you really hit it off with Seunghun?” 

Yeonjun stiffens at the mention of his illicit one night stand with Hyunjin’s friend and sighs. “Uh, it was okay. We had sex.” 

“Was he good? Like how would you rate him?” 

“Like a solid 8.5.” Yeonjun states monotonously as he kicks his shoes off unceremoniously. 

“Wow. Wait so, are you going to call him? Why didn’t you spend the night at his place?” Beomgyu asks, eyes wide with curiosity. 

Yeonjun shrugs. “Just not into him like that I guess. Or I’m just not into dating right now. Thinking I should focus on graduation for now.” 

“I don’t believe you.” Beomgyu makes a show of placing his hands on his hips. “Seunghun is like, super good looking and totally your type.” He sighs. “You’re just not into dating guys that isn’t Soobin.” 

Yeonjun sends his friend an offended look. “What? No! It’s not that at all.” 

“Hyung…where were you, really?”

“I was at Seunghun’s!” 

“No you weren’t! Your voice is doing that thing where it’s all high pitched and scratchy at the same time. You can’t lie to me. Also, Seunghun texted me and said you left like two hours ago.” 

“Oh good Lord did he really? Okay fine. I was with Soobin! You happy?” 

Beomgyu gasps dramatically. “You filthy hoe. I knew it. Did you kiss him? Did you sleep with him?” 

“No! Fuck. Shut up. We just hung out. Nothing happened.” Yeonjun slips on a clean shirt with fervor, feeling annoyed by how his friend is interrogating him. 

“Hung out. At 1 in the morning. Okay.” 

“We played basketball.” 

“Soobin sucks at basketball.” 

“I know. It was hard to watch.” 

“God! Why won’t you just ask him out? I don’t know why you keep trying to deny you like him especially when he clearly likes you too.” 

Yeonjun pauses from fluffing his pillows upon Beomgyu’s words. “How do you know that? I broke his heart, remember? I told you the story. He’s just a good person so he’s being nice to me. Doesn’t mean he likes me.” 

Beomgyu groans, looking exasperated. “You are so dense and stupid, hyung.” 

“Excuse me? That’s it I’m stripping you of all Switch _ and _PS4 privileges.” 

“Whatever. You’re like obviously in love with Soobin. You’re just too much of a coward to do anything about it.” 

Actually hearing the words feels a little surreal, like everything he’d been carefully trying to conceal from everyone including himself had been blatantly exposed, and it sends him into a whirlwind of realizations. 

He realizes that at this point, no matter how hard he tries, his feelings won’t just disappear, especially not when he’s too afraid to be rejected that he can’t bring himself to express them. 

Yeonjun is quiet, and Beomgyu moves to grab his acoustic guitar to play some random tune as he speaks again. “So you broke up with him when you were a stupid high school boy. Don’t you think Soobin has grown from that to be able to forgive you? Or maybe even give you another chance? All I’m saying is, not everyone gets a second chance, and you got yours served on a silver platter. It’s just up to you to grab it, hyung.” 

Really, Beomgyu can be obnoxious and loud, but he’s actually got a good head on his shoulders. Yeonjun hates being served by Beomgyu of all people, but this time he might really be on to something. 

“Quit beating yourself up over it too. You’ve changed a lot too since we met. You’ve grown up too. And I think Soobin sees that.” 

“Oh fuck.” Yeonjun’s heart races from the sudden adrenaline, hardly even registering Beomgyu’s words at this point. “I’m in love with Soobin.” 

Beomgyu perks up. “Wait, what?” 

“Beomgyu! I’m in love with Soobin.” 

“Holy shit. I didn’t think you’d actually admit it but, congratulations? What are you going to do about it?” 

Yeonjun’s face splits into a wide grin, like the idea had been lingering in the back of his mind since day one. 

+x+

It’s a week into graduation practice when Yeonjun decides to put his plan in motion. 

Creating a fake Twitter account and getting Soobin to meet up with him under the guise of a complete stranger turns out to be quite an easy feat. Yeonjun wonders just how desperate Soobin actually was to find someone to adopt the puppy that he didn’t bother to do some background check. 

**@Ttoobbin125 **Hey Mr. Lee! I’ve just picked up the baby from her temporary home and we’re waiting for you outside Starbucks! She can’t wait to meet you!! 

**@misterleesuncute **hey i’m on my way hold up 

He’d actually left to go to Starbucks really early, his feet tickled by the jitters he’d acquired from finally deciding to do this. He’s wearing his lucky gray tee and favorite black ripped jeans for good measure, even though he’d mentally prepared himself for rejection or whatever Soobin will throw at him. In this case, it’s a confused gape. 

“Hyung? What are you doing here?” He asks, his arms occupied by the little puppy. Somehow he looks even better than he always has, like Yeonjun is finally seeing him as someone other than the boy whose heart he broke.

Yeonjun clears his throat, feeling a tad nervous but still determined. “I’m here to pick up a dog I’m adopting. Do you happen to know someone with the twitter handle Ttoobbin one two five? Said to meet me here.” 

Soobin’s face shifts to disbelief. “Wait, what? Shit. Is this like a prank? What are you doing?” 

Yeonjun waves his hands dismissively. “No! What? Soobin!” He sighs. “_ I’m _Mister Lee Sun Cute. I made that fake account so I could auspiciously get you to meet me here thinking you were getting some random stranger to adopt the puppy.” 

“Wait so…no one’s adopting the puppy?” 

Yeonjun groans frustratedly. “No, dumbass! _ I’m _adopting her. I was just being mysterious because I wanted to surprise you.” 

And then Soobin gawks at him some more. “Why...why would you want to do that?” Yeonjun wonders if he’s imagining the way Soobin’s voice quivers. 

“Because!” He huffs and composes himself before taking a step closer. “Because I like you a lot. In fact, I think I’ve really fallen for you.” 

“Wh—.” 

“And I know I was shitty in the past, but ever since I saw you again at that university fair, I haven’t been able to get you off of my mind. And I kept beating myself up because the more I got to know you, the more I regretted not taking you seriously back then. The truth is, you’re so beautiful. The way you talk about bread is beautiful. The way you tell stories about animals and your stupid roommate is beautiful. Your goofy laugh is beautiful. And like, have you seen yourself in the mirror lately? Chef’s kiss!” 

“Hyung, I—.” 

“The truth is I thought I wasn’t allowed to like you because I’ve already lost my chance. But I realized that even if it’s true what they say, that we’re cursed to fall for people we’re not supposed to fall for, I don’t care anymore.” 

Soobin lets out a soft chuckle as soon as Yeonjun finishes talking. “Jun-hyung. I think between the two of us, I was the one who was cursed.” 

Yeonjun chews on his lips and urges Soobin to continue. 

“Because by societal norms only _ idiots _ fall back in love with the person who left them…” He bites his lower lip and looks resigned. “And only idiots think kissing someone else is a good idea to try and test if it would make the other person jealous.” 

“Wait...you actually? Wait...oh my god.”

“I was doing the same thing you were doing, hyung. Just, coasting around my feelings and trying too hard to deny them. I thought I had more pride than to go after the guy who dumped me.” Soobin laughs solemnly.

“That’s literally what I was trying to do. I even slept with someone thinking it would help me feel any less for you. It didn’t. It just made me realize how much I actually like you Soobin, my mind was a mess.”

“I like you too. So much. And I stopped holding that break up against you as soon as you went off to college. I realized I didn’t really know what love was back then either. And truthfully, I don’t think either of us gave _ us _ a fighting chance before, even me. So maybe...maybe it’s not about the person being wrong for you, maybe it’s the time that was wrong. And hyung, us meeting again after four years seems like the perfect time to give and take that chance to finally do things right.” 

“Wow.” Yeonjun gasps, feeling like he’s been set afloat by Soobin’s enlightening words. He takes the initiative to move even closer. “Well said.” 

“Not just a hat rack, hyung.” 

Yeonjun chortles at that and decides this is the perfect time for that perfect cinematic kiss. The one just before the credits roll in like in those cheesy romantic comedies he guiltily consumed throughout sophomore year. 

He lets his gaze flit over Soobin’s features for a split second before leaning in and closing the distance between their lips. His hands rest on Soobin’s nape while the taller male works on pulling him close by the waist with his free hand. The kiss itself feels normal, almost like any other kiss he’s had. But knowing it’s Soobin he’s kissing has Yeonjun feeling tingles in parts of him he didn’t know could feel them. He was right about one thing, that once he gets a taste of Soobin’s lips, he’s never gonna want to stop. 

So when the puppy Soobin is holding between their chests starts whining and barking softly at them, that’s the only time they decide to pull away. 

“Sorry!” Soobin coos at the dog. 

“Suri!” Yeonjun exclaims. “I’m going to call her Suri.” 

Soobin smiles, his dimples making themselves known once more. And this time, Yeonjun doesn’t hold back the urge to poke them (and kiss them for good measure).

“Come to my graduation.” Yeonjun mutters softly.

“I thought you’d never ask.” 

+x+

Beomgyu’s POV

“You know I can’t help but think you guys wouldn’t have gotten together if it wasn’t for my imperative meddling. Think this calls for payback.” Beomgyu declares. 

Yeonjun settles himself cozily on Soobin’s lap with a bowl of popcorn in hand and his phone in the other. “You know, you’re so painfully single, it’s hard to watch. Why are you even here? It’s Babe Time.” He says mockingly, and Beomgyu revels in the way Soobin pinches his stupid boyfriend’s side for being a frivolous bitch of a friend. 

“Or he could just reply to Hyunjin’s messages.” Soobin shrugs. “The guy’s been really persistent. I think you should give him a chance.” 

Beomgyu briefly contemplate this, if only because it was Soobin who suggested it. It doesn’t take long though before he’s giving up and releasing a guttural moan of frustration. “You guys make me sick.” 

“You want payback? I’ll give you something in the form of an advice, something a smart bird once told me.” Yeonjun starts, piquing Beomgyu’s narrow interest. “He practically told me, don’t be a pussy and just admit I’m in love with my ex.” 

“I’m _ not _ in love with Hyunjin. We’re over!” Beomgyu protests vigorously, even when he himself feels the astounding falsity in his own words.

Yeonjun cackles and wraps his arms around Soobin’s neck like one of those monkey toys Beomgyu used to love as a kid. “Suit yourself!”

“I hate you. Both of you.” He tells them, not really meaning it. Well, until they start grossly making out in front of him. That is where he draws the line. “Okay, fuck this, I’m calling Hyunjin.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> edit: this fic is probably the stupidest thing to ever grace the face of the interwebs. nevertheless, i'm glad to see there are a few of you who enjoyed it. thank you for reading!


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